January 21, 2003

Imagine — the Ride of a Lifetime

From Engineering to Imagineering, NC State Alumna Elena Page Takes Top Honors for Her Work at Disney

Elena Page and Alec Scriber work together in the Soarin’ hangar during production.  (Photo:  Gary Kruger. Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved.)

Feet dangling and listening to music, you soar over California.  As you dip in and out of clouds, you pass over Lake Tahoe, San Diego, Yosemite, Disneyland and more.  Fragrances from pines and orange groves fill your nostrils and wind tosses your hair.  Imagine such a ride.

That’s just what Elena M. Page (BSEE ’97, BSCPE ’98) and her team members did when they created the awarding-winning ride, Soarin’ Over California, in Disney’s California Adventure Park, part of Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.  Page — known as “E” to her friends — is an associate show programmer at Walt Disney Imagineering, the division of Walt Disney Company that designs and produces all attractions for the Disney theme parks. 

The first woman show programmer at Imagineering, Page programs the motion of vehicles, props and special effects in the parks.  She programmed the Soarin’ ride, for which Walt Disney Imagineering won the prestigious 2002 Themed Entertainment Association (Thea) award in the category of Best Attraction. 

Elena Page grew up in Wilmington. As a child she loved to tinker — “to see how things work.” She remembers a trip to Disney World when she was 10 years old.  While on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, she recalls noticing the hair on a pirate’s leg and pointing this out to her mother.  “It’s in the details,” Page said. “The details make the ride.”

“I really felt as if we had won the equivalent of the Oscar for theme parks,” Page said.  “I felt my peers had recognized my contributions as a programmer as well as our whole team’s contributions to a great project.”  Indeed, the Thea Awards, established in 1994, are considered the Oscars of the themed entertainment industry.

Page first learned of the nomination from Alec J. Scribner, show producer of Soarin’ at Imagineering.  She also learned that another attraction she had programmed for Tokyo DisneySea called StormRider — “the largest simulator in an entertainment venue” — was also up for the same award. 

Describing Soarin’, Page said, “It is such a unique attraction because no one has ever combined this type of mechanics, technology and ingenuity with the high caliber of a film (created by Disney) in the IMAX format.”

Unveiled February 8, 2001, the attraction is a three-dimensional experience that celebrates the contributions of California to the world.  Disney parks are composed of “lands,” and Soarin’ is in the land of Condor Flats.  To take the ride, visitors first enter a huge hangar housing an aviator “hall of fame” and view a brief history of aviation in California.  Cast members in flight suits lead visitors to three loading stations and help them into a vehicle that seats up to 87 people.  The vehicle is made up of three carriages — three rows per carriage.  Once the visitors are buckled in, the take-off lights cue up, music begins, canopies lower and the carriages rise — up to 40 to 45 feet in the air.  Below the carriages is an inverted IMAX 80-foot dome. 

There is no narration during the ride, only the visual experience of the film, the sound of composer Jerry Goldsmith’s music and the sensations of special effects.  Page programmed those sensations.  To create what Page referred to as “the reality of the attraction — the experience,” she worked closely with senior vice president executive show director Rick A. Rothschild, senior show producer Alec Scribner and other members of the creative team that included the lighting designer and art director.  She also worked with the show ride engineers who designed the mechanics of the vehicle.  Her job was to integrate the vision of the creative team with the engineering of the vehicle.

	Elena Page has certainly put her degrees in electrical engineering (’97) and computer engineering (’98) to good use.  The first woman show programmer at Imagineering, Page programmed the Soarin’ ride (pictured), for which Walt Disney Imagineering won the prestigious 2002 Themed Entertainment Association (Thea) award for Best Attraction.  The Thea is considered the Oscar of the themed entertainment industry.  (Photo:  Jess Allen. Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved.)

Page’s association with Imagineering began in 1996, when she became an intern by winning an Imagi-Nations University Design Competition.  She came across a flyer for the competition while she was an engineering and computer science student at NC State University.  With a background in robotics, controls, animation and art, she found the competition interesting and decided to enter.  “I never realized this world existed until I entered the competition,” she said.

Page described her entry as a “partial immersion-virtual reality attraction.”  She named it the “Lion King’s African Adventure,” and her presentation included a story, vehicle design, facility planning and music.  She even sang.  In Page’s design, riders climb onto kneeling elephants, sit on the backs (in hatches) and explore the territory with King Simba.

Page values her six-month experience as an intern in show design.  “When you are an intern, you learn a number of skills that are remarkable,” she said.  “You learn about operating in the entertainment industry, pitching ideas, working with diverse teams, being a good team member and maintaining professionalism and excellence.”  When she returned to NC State, Page knew she wanted to become a permanent member of Imagineering.  She also knew that getting the job was highly competitive and that it was up to her to earn a place as an Imagineer.  She kept in touch with several people at Imagineering while she completed her studies, and in 1999, Page became an associate show programmer.  Today, she is known for programming big vehicles, the “E” tickets — a classification of tickets denoting the most exciting rides and, consequently, a play on her name among her friends.

As former winner of the Imagi-Nations University Design Competition, Page is on the advisory board for the competition.  As a board member and as an Imagineering enthusiast, Page wants to draw more diverse and talented newcomers to her company.  In fall 2001 Page and Monica M. Griffin, a member of Imagineering’s college relations team, worked with the Society of Women Engineers and the National Society of Black Engineers to make a presentation to NC State engineering students about the Imagi-Nations annual competition.  They also worked with professors Chandra D. Cox, associate professor of art and design, and Patrick Fitzgerald, assistant professor of art and design, to make a presentation to College of Design students at NC State.

When design students Jackson Floyd Brown III, Nick Hobson and Gabriela Ferro became finalists, Page returned to NC State to advise them on their projects.  This mentoring aspect of the competition was not available to her when she had competed.  The three NC State students swept the competition in June 2002.  “The level of quality of the students at NC State is phenomenal,” Page said.

Page offered words of guidance for other students who are interested in the themed entertainment industry:  “My advice to any student would be if you have a passion, just explore it.  And when you are developing those passions, you will find what you are interested in, and that will lead you to what you will do.  There is no way I could have envisioned this career.”  According to Page, all her experiences, from the time she was a child to the present, made her an Imagineer.

When asked about her next challenge, Page quickly responded, “Program the next E ticket!”

Just imagine . . .

— mcblief —

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